Practical Magic 2 First Reviews: A Welcome Reunion That Can’t Recreate the Original’s Spell
The long-awaited sequel gives fans more time with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s beloved witches, but critics say the magic around them is hit-or-miss.
Nearly 28 years after the original’s release, Practical Magic 2 arrives in theaters on Friday, and the first reviews are now online. The sequel reunites Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, who reprise their lead roles as sister witches Sally and Gilly Owens, while Joey King and Maisie Williams join them as Sally’s daughters Kylie and Antonia. Based on Alice Hoffman’s novel The Book of Magic, the new movie’s premise takes the family to the UK for a fresh location, but fans of this franchise will be happy enough just to see Sally and Gilly again in any setting.
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Here’s what critics are saying about Practical Magic 2.
Is the sequel worth the wait?
The cast and crew deliver more than enough reasons to head to the theater, pick up a midnight margarita and get swept away all over again. – Amelia Emberwing, TheWrap
Bullock and Kidman still cast quite the spell. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
It will please fans who have been eagerly anticipating a sequel to the cult classic original. – Amy Kim, Next Best Picture
Departing the Owens’ iconic Massachusetts home for more of the movie than some die-hard fans might like, Practical Magic 2 is nevertheless transporting. – Alison Foreman, IndieWire
If all you’re after is to see the Owens sisters in a (slightly) different story, with the aunts wearing more excellent clothes, then you’ll find something to enjoy in Practical Magic 2. But if you were hoping for more of the same magic, there’s no spark to be found here. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
Fans of the first Practical Magic won’t feel the same power watching this. – Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
It fails to conjure up the magic of its predecessor, making it difficult to imagine the sequel achieving the same kind of cultural status as the 1998 classic. – Sophia Ciminello, AwardsWatch
How does it compare to the original?
The playful spirit of the original is immediately present in the sequel. – Amy Kim, Next Best Picture
Practical Magic 2 is just as dopey as the first movie — arguably more so. – Brett Arnold, Yahoo.com
The dramatically increased budget on display here occasionally works against Bier, whose glossy new sequel loses some of the handmade quality that helped the original endure. – Alison Foreman, IndieWire
The sequel attempts to use the same ingredients to make the same potent spell, but gets the mix all wrong. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
Practical Magic 2 doesn’t appear to understand what made the original movie so appealing. – Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Is it more successful than other legacy sequels?
Recent studio revivals…don’t hold a candle to this one. – Alison Foreman, IndieWire
To its credit, the film does avoid the legacy sequel trap of trying to hit too many familiar beats. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The first act promises a legacy sequel that wants to move the story on, not just wallow in nostalgia. It does not stay this way, though. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
I found the movie’s use of the legacy-sequel framework uninspiring and was never fully engaged with the story, which I felt hewed too closely to the original, both in content and in the way it’s all so loosely connected. – Brett Arnold, Yahoo.com
How great is it to see Bullock and Kidman together again?
Bullock and Kidman have fantastic chemistry in the movie. – Brett Arnold, Yahoo.com
As with the 1998 original, the single best reason to watch the sequel is [their] chemistry…the palpable affection coursing between Kidman and Bullock remains as sturdy a foundation as ever. – Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
If you’re watching the Practical Magic sequel, it is probably to see Kidman and Bullock channel their unique movie-star sorcery — beguiling eccentricity and earthy exasperation, both singularly endearing in their primes — and they conjure it with muscle memory that is fascinating in its own right. – Adrian Horton, Guardian
The obvious appeal of the Bullock and Kidman bond is getting to watch the pair do anything together. Still, their tender and tickling reunion is brilliantly constructed. – Alison Foreman, IndieWire
When this sequel works, it works largely thanks to its stars, as Bullock and Kidman still draw that sisterly bond out of each other. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
As enjoyable as it can be to hang out with Gillian and Sally again, the movie around them is too uninspired to be engaging. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
How are Joey King and Maisie Williams in their roles?
Thankfully, Joey King brings her A-game as Kylie. – Todd Gilchrist, Variety
When it comes to inheriting the spirit of Practical Magic overall, the former Kissing Booth actor [Joey King] fares considerably better than her closest co-star, Williams. – Alison Foreman, IndieWire
[King] delivers in spades and holds her own in every scene with an exquisite, unique aura, making the audience resonate with Kylie’s journey. – Carla Renata, The Curvy Critic
King rises gamely to the occasion, while Maisie Williams is squandered, largely wandering about with an inauspicious ’90s-prom updo. – Leila Latif, Empire Magazine
Poor Maisie Williams [is] largely absent from the action. The result leaves the movie feeling unbalanced, especially considering the emphasis the first movie placed on the power of sisterhood. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Disappointing, and more baffling, is how completely uninterested Practical Magic 2 is in the next generation of Owens girls. – Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
Was Susanne Bier a good choice to direct the sequel?
Bier approaches the Owens sisters’ return with a keen understanding of both stars’ strengths and motivations. – Alison Foreman, IndieWire
Bier keeps the proceedings lively by not dawdling on any single narrative element. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Is it romantic?
Pace and Bullock’s unrelenting chemistry demands buy-in from the start. – Amelia Emberwing, TheWrap
[Sally and Ian’s] chemistry was scorching and had me sucking down my Midnight Strawberry Margarita like I was experiencing the ultimate hot flash! Yup! You heard me right! – Carla Renata, The Curvy Critic
How is the script?
This is a whole mess of plot, and yet Practical Magic 2’s script (by Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marce) isn’t unduly unwieldy. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
The screenplay feels a bit unfocused, with stretches of the movie feeling overlong when it can’t rely on the presence of its movie stars. – Sophia Ciminello, AwardsWatch
The biggest issue is with the screenplay. The movie is so all over the place. – Brett Arnold, Yahoo.com
There are several moments in the script where the goal is to make a plot point at the expense of the intelligence, or what we already know about, the original characters. – Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Unfortunately, we’ve got one of those screenplays where characters are prone to making bad choices based on poor logic, and contrivance drives more of the plot than one would hope. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The writing is predictable and clichéd. The main conflict is poorly thought out and drags significantly. – Amy Kim, Next Best Picture
How are the magic effects this time?
There’s no shortage of actual witchcraft here, though it’s represented more by CGI swirls than actual practical effects. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Practical Magic 2 relies on more digital imagery than the first, giving some visible attributes to the Owens’ powers. Unfortunately, most of these special effects read as hokey and, in some cases, simply look bad. – Amelia Emberwing, TheWrap
Are there any other problems with the sequel?
Kicking things off with an abrupt reversal of the first movie’s happy ending…ensures that Practical Magic 2 begins on a sour note, one that makes the movie’s subsequent attempts at lighter beats feel jarring. – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The arrival of the movie’s “real” villain is so uninspired I’m hard-pressed to remember the character’s name. – Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
The least enchanting aspect of Practical Magic 2 is its 130-minute runtime, which is 20 minutes more than its story warrants and results in a post-climax wrap-up that drones on for a veritable eternity. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Will it leave us wanting Practical Magic 3?
On the basis of Bier’s contribution to the series, there could be worse things than a return engagement with Bullock and Kidman’s witches — even if, next time around, it would be nice if they put an emphasis on succinctness. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Bullock has said that she and Kidman will “pass the torch” to King and Williams if this film spawns a threequel. But given that Practical Magic 2 is so predicated on the original stars’ kinetic chemistry, and Williams’ junior doctor spends most of the film marooned in a hospital ward, this sounds like wishful thinking. – Nick Levine, NME
Practical Magic 2 is in theaters on September 11, 2026. Buy tickets on Fandango.
